“In Heliópolis, one of São Paulo’s largest favelas, the trial of a black youth agitates the community, which argues for his innocence. In a train heading to Jardim Romano, an audio brings the history of the region to the passengers’ ears, and culminates with a final point: the rains and flooding. In the very south of the city, the body of a dead person is reanimated with Brazilian funk music. These three stories, told in three stage plays, are representative of the theatre scene that has exploded in São Paulo in recent years.” – Global Voices
Category: theatre
The Company That Tailors Broadway Musicals For School Productions Now Creates Versions For Seniors
“Into the Woods Sr. and other musicals tailored to older casts are the brainchild of Freddie Gershon, [Music Theater International’s] co-chairman, who first developed similarly shortened ‘Junior’ productions more than 20 years ago for elementary and middle schools, earning him a Tony Awards honor.” Reporter Nancy Coleman looks in on a production of the senior-ized Sondheim show. – The New York Times
Mark Morris Directs His First Non-Dance Theatre — Beckett, No Less
The choreographer is directing three plays — Come and Go, Catastrophe, and Quad (a pure-movement piece which Morris likens to Lucinda Childs) — for this month’s Happy Days festival in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen (where Beckett went to boarding school). “The timing is actually much harder than it looks; the point isn’t virtuosity, it’s expertise,” says Morris. “… And I am all about timing.” – The New York Times
This Summer’s Surprise Theatre Hit: The Mueller Report
This month alone, there will be live readings of the report from theatre companies in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., starring actors like Alfred Molina and Harry Groener. – American Theatre
West End London Theatre To Be Renamed For Stephen Sondheim
The composer will become the only living person to have a theatre dedicated in their honour in both the West End and on Broadway, which is already home to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. – The Stage
Theatre And Religion – It’s About What Resonates (And Why)
“Whether the religious creeds of our childhoods helped or harmed us, whether we retain or reject them as adults, “something inside of us” is what those teachings remain: a language we’ll always speak, because it was one of the first that we learned. Echoed in a playwright’s work, it’s instantly, almost instinctively, recognizable.” – The New York Times
A New Play Brings The #MeToo Discussion Forward In Singapore
“In Singapore, … many still hold to another century’s view of the roles of men and women. Victims of sexual misconduct often face shame and blame, and the global reckoning seems far away. … In May, [Ken Kwek’s] play This Is What Happens to Pretty Girls was performed to sold-out audiences, sparking a new wave of conversation.” – The New York Times
What Theatre Critics Deal With, In The U.S. And Elsewhere
Wendy Rosenfield travels to the International Association of Theatre Critics gathering in Montpellier, shares stories with colleagues, and realizes how much she didn’t know. – Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)
The Challenge of Doing Theatre In Mexico
“Currently, Mexico is going through a change of government, which has reduced the national budget for culture and has been removed a lot of art scholarships. On top of this, more and more states are moving away from the idea that arts hubs need to be in the capital cities, which is encouraging smaller communities across the country to create their own theatrical markets.” – Howlround
A Fringe Festival Of A Fringe Festival Is Popping Up In Philly
“At the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the vast majority of shows require paid admission … with tickets for the curated shows (those are the shows that the festival invites to participate) regularly closing in on the $50 mark. But at Free Fringe Philly, all shows will be free.” Says Sarah Knittel, one of the Free Fringe Philly’s creators, “We’ve been getting really bummed out over how ‘fringe’ in this town has started to feel really exclusive and unaffordable. So we’re going to take fringe back to the people and Robin Hood it a bit.” – Philadelphia Magazine